The Dream Within
by ThePhantomsChristineDaae
Summary: This is a story based on a recurring dream that I have had. The dream isn't finished so therefore, neither is the story. I hope the dream someday finishes itself so I may tell it to you.
1. The Dream Begins

I cannot remember if I had eaten something odd that night, or if I had seen or done something that day to recall a memory hidden in the back of my mind. Whatever it was, food or occurrences, something triggered the dream I held within me. A dream I have had several nights before and always welcomed. A dream that both confuses me, yet at the same time fills me with wonder and a deep, calming comfort.  
I do not know where this dream will lead, for it has not yet come to an end. Each time this dream chooses to come to me, it always ends in the same, memorable spot. A spot that never fails to escape my thoughts the following day. It leaves me in a void, a dark place that leaves my heart and soul yearning, begging, for more. I apologize if I leave you with the same feeling, for I do not intend to leave out the smallest detail, the smallest feeling that I can in this, the story of my dream within.  
  
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The wind blew cold, stinging the skin and burning the eyes. It picked up salt from the ocean in front of me and filled my nostrils with the strong, unavoidable scent of it. My eyes stung both with the fierceness of the wind and with the tears filling them, my salt mixing with the ocean's.  
The ocean; a sight that until this day used to fill me with such wonder, such pure joy. Wondering what's going on under its calm waters, what beautiful creatures are swimming their lives away under the waves. The way the water sparkled under the sunlight during the day, how it reflected the moon and stars during the night. All this I loved, and all this set me in a state of calm, wonderfully relaxed feelings. But today was different. Today they were transferring the high security prisoners onto the executioners boat. The boat that carries the over flow of death row inmates to the middle of the ocean where they are shot and tossed over board.  
As I stood on the upper dock in my long white gown, searching for the familiar walk of a man I used to know, I hardly noticed the two figures standing next to me. The two figures of my best friends standing ever faithfully beside me, the only thing I would have left after this day. But I feared that happiness would be short lived around them. You see, they were both homosexual and had found happiness with each other and I knew that their happiness would only push me deeper into a void of loneliness.  
"Isn't that him?" The taller of my friends said. He had long blond hair and bright inquisitive eyes, always the first to notice anything. His name was Jason, and he had a strong, protective yet feminine look to him. He was pointing to the middle of a long line walking up the docks to board the boat.  
My hands flew to my mouth as the tears came fresh to my eyes and I felt my knees shake. "It's him. Oh it's him!" I buried my face in my hands, crying freely as the shorter, more feminine Jamie wrapped his arms around me. He was always the one with the bigger heart, always waiting to comfort or inspire. I needed him now, more then I ever needed any one. "I can't stand it Jamie! I just can't stand it! They're going to take him out there and murder him and then just toss his body into the ocean!!" I sobbed then, unable to finish my thought as Jamie hushed me, rubbing my back.  
"I know dear, I know. And they said he was a monster when in fact they are! Taking those poor people out there to murder them." Jamie kissed my forehead, still rubbing my back. I knew he was trying to sound like my upset feelings were justified, but I felt him shaking his head at Jason. They both thought that I was crazy, that I never should have associated myself with some one who referred to themselves as the world's most efficient assassin. They couldn't understand why I'd rather spend my time in a small home in the basement of an Opera house rather then at the movies with friends or finding myself a boyfriend to care for me in life. I myself couldn't understand why I was so drawn to this much older man, but I always longed so for his company.  
"I can't take this anymore!" I pushed myself from Jamie, my heart over flowing with grief and unable to take the pain anymore. I would rather die then spend the rest of my life with out the company of my dear friend. "Erik!" I cried out pathetically as I threw myself off the upper dock into the salt water, just hoping that he saw me before I hit the water, or that he didn't see me as I smashed into one of the lower walkways.  
  
The water was cold around me, sending a shock through my system and causing me to inhale, water invading my lungs forcefully. I opened my eyes, my tears no longer my own but belonging to the ocean. I couldn't see, the water too murky to let light penetrate through. I cried then more, not because I was going to die, but because the ocean wasn't the dream I thought it to be. It wasn't clear, there weren't any exotic, beautiful fish swimming where I was. I cried because two of my dreams were broken this day, and I would be broken with them.  
I stopped moving, stropped waving my arms and legs through the murky water as my lungs started to burn. They begged for air, begged for me to struggle my way to the surface of the water. But my heart cried no, my heart ached much stronger then my lungs and begged me to stay below, to end it's misery. I was always one to follow my heart, so I stayed below in what I knew would become my final resting place. Mine and Erik's final resting place together. We would finally be together, away from the world and what they would perceive of us.  
I closed my eyes, waiting for the arms of death to encompass me in their cold embrace, to take me in his arms as a well-known lover. And then finally I felt it, felt his arms wrapping around my now limp body as consciousness started to slip from my grasp. I opened my eyes to catch a glimpse of the mystery that is death, and what I saw shocked me back into a state of wakeful amazement. The face staring back at me was the terribly scared face of the man I was giving my life to be with. I tried to work out the problem in my head, but the lack of oxygen had made me quite dizzy and I felt myself passing out again.  
The next thing I remember was lying on a lumpy mattress inside a room I was not familiar with. I used what little strength I seemed to have and I propped myself up on one elbow. A cold draft after doing so made me look down at myself. A slightly frightened gasp escaped my mouth as I realized that I was naked underneath a thin white sheet and a thick, scratchy gray blanket. I was also dry, all save my hair. A quickly pulled the covers over my exposed body and looked around. I was in a room that was longer then it was wide, and very plain and dull; the walls where concrete and there was very little occupying the space with in the room. It dawned on me then that I was in some sort of jail cell, yet I still had no idea where I was.  
Footsteps came to me from down the hall and I made a feeble attempt to hide with in the blanket and my cell. I started shivering, becoming very frightened from not knowing who was coming down the hall towards my cell. My heart was beating fast, felling as if it wanted to burst out of my chest and find a new home. I apologized to my poor heart, knowing how much pain and suffering I had put it through. I didn't blame it for wanting to leave me.  
"My dear? Are you awake?" My heart was calmed slightly by the soft, male voice I heard, but my head started to spin. It was a voice that was at once powerful and angelic. It sounded so much like my dear, sweet Erik but my heart and head both tried to argue with me that it could not be him. He had to be dead by now, just as I should be, but as I heard the bars creak open, and the soft steps come in, I removed the blanket from my head and face to see what fate would befall me.  
"Erik!" I cried, over joyed to see the horribly deformed face of my good friend. Just as I didn't care that I was naked, or that he wasn't wearing the mask he always did, I jumped up, clasping the blanket to me, and fell into his strong embrace. I started crying, wondering how this could have come to be, how we were allowed to find each other again and to find our happiness. "I was frightened Erik. I didn't know where I was and I didn't know who was coming. I thought I had lost you forever."  
He hushed me, wrapping the blanket more firmly around me. He has always been a gentile, thoughtful and polite man, and I knew the thought of the blanket falling from my body worried him and made him uncomfortable. He had never had much human contact through out his life, due to the grotesqueness of his face, and it took a great deal of time before he would even touch my hand. I had taken pity on him, and promised him that I would never leave or ever hurt him. The truth is, I had fallen secretly in love with him.  
"You're safe here, My Dear. Nothing will harm you and nothing will tear us apart again." He rubbed my back, his hands straying no further then the area between my shoulders as he strived to convince me that everything was okay again. I knew he was right, my heart knew that he was right, but everything else in me was still sure that there was some unseen evil that would once again try to separate us. "I brought you some clothes, My Dear Mina." He said to me, holding me away from him a bit with his hands on my shoulders.  
I looked up at him, my eyes red and the area around them puffy from the time I had spent crying. I felt a stir of helplessness with in me, though everything around me displayed nothing but hope. Erik stepped away from me and reached down to pick up a bundle of clothing dropped gracelessly on the cold ground. He handed them to me with a soft, fond look in his eyes.  
"Thank you Erik." I said, smiling as I felt with in me the same fondness I saw in his eyes. I gazed at him, feeling his eyes staring at me with nothing but admiration. I knew he loved me as I loved him, but neither of us had dared to mention our feelings to the other, though I knew with out a doubt that we would spend the rest of our lives together. I took the clothes from him and laid them out on the bed, carefully keeping the blankets around me. The clothes weren't the quality I usually received from him, but they felt warm and clean. I smiled at him over my shoulder, feeling my face flush a bit, suddenly seeming to realize that I was only wrapped in a blanket.  
"You're perfect, Mina." He said to me, a soft smile of admiration on his lips as he looked at me. I wasn't sure at all what to say, only for the first time hearing him say something that may even be the slightest bit in connection with my body. Erik had never been too comfortable with human contact, or talk of such things as making love. I knew one day we would though. One day we would have a family of our own.  
"Thank you, Erik." My voice was quiet, wavering a little bit out of embarrassment. I was about as used to complements as Erik was to my soft kisses on the cheek. He chuckled a bit as he turned to leave the cell we were both in at the moment, for that's all it could have been, a cell. This raised a question in me. "Erik," he stopped and turned to look at me. "Erik. Where are we?" He came back to me, putting his arms gently around my shoulders and holding me close to his hard, muscular body.  
"I will tell you everything, My Dear, once you are changed and have had some food." He slowly leaned down towards me, and before I was able to think about it, he had given me a soft, quick kiss on my lips. I drew in breath, looking wide-eyed at him as he walked away and out of the cell. I stayed that way for quite a while, shocked at what he had done. I never thought that he would be the one to make such a move, such a step forward in our relationship together.  
I smiled then, turning back towards the clean clothes lying on the bed and I dropped the blanket. I had always been very self-conscious of my body, and would never have thought of exposing myself like I just had if I knew some one was watching. But the thing is, I didn't know. I thought that I was secure, alone and safe in the peace of this cell. The sound of a woman clearing her throat told me other wise.  
A gasped both in fright and embarrassment, turning quickly to face the sound and pulling the blanket once again around my body. There was indeed a woman standing there, outside my cell. She was taller then me, and much skinner with thick, dark black hair and piercing gray eyes. It was also quite obvious that she was upset about something. Though what, I could not yet at this moment guess.  
"Oh don't worry about covering yourself up, dear." Her voice was cold, hateful and it bit at my heart. "I want to see what it is that has Erik so infatuated with you. I want to see what you have that I don't." She spoke harshly, not at all wishing to be kind, or even considerate towards me. There was a deep hatred with in her voice, and it also held jealousy, as if I had taken something dear from her with out even trying.  
"I-I don't know what you're talking about." The words stumbled from my mouth as I clutched the blanket as if it were the only thing keeping me from passing out.  
"Don't give me that crap, child. You know very well what I'm talking about!" She lashed forward at me, grabbing my arm and gripping it hard as she pulled me to her. "You stole Erik from me! He was in the cell next to me and he would always sing to me!" Her eyes softened a bit as she told me her story. "He has the most beautiful voice and it always made me forget that I was there to someday die." Her eyes became cold again, and her grip tightened around my arm and caused me to cry out as warm droplets of blood started to form under her nails. "Then you come along and he's forgotten me."  
I shook my head, fear welling up in me. She was a criminal, sent to death row for a crime she had committed and here she was, angry as all hell with me, a death grip on my arm. I couldn't fight her, I knew this. She was far too strong for me and with out a doubt more experienced in the fighting world. All I could do was hope for the best.  
"I'm sorry. Erik and I knew each other long before he was imprisoned. And I-I didn't expect him to meet anyone in prison." I shook my head, pleading to my captor with my eyes and my voice to let me go. "I didn't mean any harm. I-I just wanted my dear friend back." She pushed me away from her, turning her back and crossing her arms, refusing to look at me.  
"Well, you've gotten him back. And I hope you two have a wonderful life, living on the run." She was hurt, but angrier that she had been pushed aside for some common, plain looking girl. I knew that's what she was thinking, because it's what I was thinking. Why me? Why was I the one that Erik chose? I would ask him, but latter. Much, much later.  
"I'm sorry." That was all I could say, all I could choke out of my constricting throat as I struggled not to cry. I felt sorry for her, knowing full well what it felt like to be rejected by some one you loved for another person. It hurt so much, leaving a hole with in your heart, putting a dark cloud over your life. At least, that's what it did to me, and that's what I felt it was doing to her.  
"Delilah! I didn't expect you here." My reveries were cut short as Erik returned, carrying a small tray that seemed to carry a bowl of hot soup, some water, and some crackers. "I'm sorry, my dear, that I cannot offer you much more then this." He smiled sadly at me, putting the tray down on the floor next to the bed. The left side of his face was turning a bit red, and I knew that under his mask, his right side was too. He was nervous from me still being wrapped in just the blanket. He had counted on my being dressed by the time he returned.  
"It's alright Erik!" I smiled, making my voice soft and straining to keep it under control, still very afraid of this Delilah woman. "I'm sure it's wonderful and very filling." As I sat down on the bed beside the soup, prompting to take a bite, I looked up to see Delilah leaving.  
"I have to go." Her voice echoed a bit as she called back. I knew she was only talking to Erik, ignoring me. She wished I didn't exist, and so she planned on pretending that I didn't, hoping that I just disappeared.  
"Oh Erik." I stood up, tears over flowing in my eyes as I forgot the towel I was in and threw my arms around his neck. My blanket made an attempt to crash down to the floor, but Erik's quick hands saved it. He wrapped it, as well as his arms, around me and just held me close to him, hushing me and rubbing my back. I was trembling, and I could feel that he was too, but for a different reason. He had never had much physical contact, and I knew that this was making him uncomfortable. I didn't care, though I did think about it. I just needed him to hold me so much then. I had almost lost him, more times then I knew or had dared to guess. And it frightened me; it frightened me so much that I just couldn't bear leaving him again. I had to tell him how I truly felt.  
"Erik.. I..." I turned my face up to his, looking deep with in his yellow eyes to see if I could find the same feelings I knew I had. But it was always so hard to read him and his feelings, so I had to risk it, to risk everything. "I love you."  
  
And I am afraid, my friends, that that is all this dream has allowed me to see. I hope by telling this to you all, that the ending will be revealed to me. 


	2. Dream Lover

**DISCLAIMER: Okay, I in no way own the Phantom, he just lives in my closet… This chapter/short story/thingy was based off of a Celtic song called Dream Lover (hence the title o.O) and the lyrics to the song will follow the story/chapter/thingy. I don't own the song… Yeah… And for those who read the first chapter…That dream NEVER continued… EVER… **

"I had the dream again last night, Danielle." Marlena said suddenly, staring into her cup of tea.

Danielle looked up at her from across the dining room table. "The dream on the boat?" She asked without interest, sipping from her can of Dr. Pepper.

Marlena shook her head, staring into the steaming depths of her coffee cup. "A new one; with the same man." Marlena didn't notice Danielle's look of interest. "I've had it four nights in a row, now."

Danielle sat forward, brushing her brown hair out of her face in order to see her friend better. "What happened this time? Was there another woman trying to steal him from you?" She didn't try to hide the excitement in her voice. Danielle never dreamed as vividly as her best friend and found it exciting to live through Marlena's dreams.

Marlena shook her head and looked up at her friend. There was fear mixed with a deep curiosity in her voice. "It was just the two of us. I could almost swear it were real…"

"Well?" Danielle asked impatiently as Marlena paused. "What happened in the dream?"

Marlena looked out the window at the bright blue sky. There were a few clouds in the sky, but they were the deep, heavy grey that spoke of rain. _It will rain tonight._ She thought absently. "I woke up to a rustling in my room. At least, I thought I woke up…" Danielle rolled her eyes as Marlena paused again. "He was leaning over me, so close I could feel his breath on my face."

Danielle sucked the air in through her teeth. "That right there would be enough to make me scream." She sipped her Dr. Pepper again and shook her head.

"I didn't." Marlena said calmly. "He moved away from my bed when he saw my eyes open. That's when I became afraid. I thought he was going to leave so I… I called his name…"

Danielle looked at her as if she were crazy or simple. "I'm not going to ask what made you want him to stay… What happened next?"

"Well…"

_"Erik!" She cried in a scared whisper as he moved away. "Don't go…"_

_He stepped out of the shadows in her room. He wore a long cloak as black as night that radiated defiance. 'I don't need the shadows to hide,' the cloak seemed to say._

_"Come." He said, offering her one elegant, long fingered hand gloved in black leather. "Rise from your bed and come with me…" He beckoned gently to her._

_His voice was so soft yet so clear that Marlena couldn't tell if he was real or just a figment of her imagination. He seemed different, strange since the last time they met on the prison barge. She turned her face from him and shivered, afraid to meet his eyes._

_He took a small step closer, his hand still held in offering. "Be not afraid." He whispered with a voice as smooth as silk and as dark as the deepest part of the ocean. "No harm will come to you this night, for I will hold you near."_

_Marlena turned her face to him and met his eyes for the first time that night. They were an eerie yellow that almost glowed in the dark. She could not break their spell over her._

_He reached for her hand and took it, pulling gently until she had no choice but to sit up. "Please, don't make me go. Let me stay where nothing is a surprise, where I know al that can happen." He pulled still until she was standing, her flowing silk nightgown cascading around her in a water fall of lavender._

_He led her through the house and into the front yard. She gasped as she saw a closed carriage painted a smooth black with a matching pair of midnight stallions waiting anxiously to be off. He handed her into the carriage and stepped around to climb in next to her. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him._

_With out a word from Erik, the horses started off. Marlena was startled with the roughness of the ride and clasped a hand to Erik's shoulder to steady herself. In a matter of moments, the carriage smoothed out and it felt to Marlena as if they had stopped._

_Erik said not a word and made no move to step out of the carriage. Curious to know where they were, Marlena looked out the carriage window. With a gasp, she pulled away and pushed herself into Erik, who snaked a comforting arm around her shoulders, an amused grin pulling at the corners of his mouth._

_"Where are we?" She asked, her voice shaking as she allowed herself to be cradled. "How are you doing this? How are we flying?"_

"A flying carriage?" Danielle asked skeptically, throwing away her empty Dr. Pepper can and grabbing another one. "If you had any questions about whether or not you were dreaming, I would have thought they would have been answered at that point."

Marlena frowned at her as she sat back down. "But it was so real! I could feel his breath on my face and the velvet of the couches cushion." She stood up and started to pace. "I could taste my fear in my own throat."

"Okay Miss Dramatic." Danielle cooed affectionately. She knew Marlena always had a flare for the dramatic; that's why she made such a convincing actress. "What happened next?"

Marlena sighed, sitting down again. "Fine…"

_Erik too no head of her questions but continued to stare ahead. Marlena had no choice but to sit and wait._

_It felt like an eternity before the carriage set down with a noisy thump followed by a lot of rocking and bumping. Marlena peered out the window again cautiously, holding tight to Erik's arm should they still be in the air. They had indeed landed, much to Marlena's relief._

_They were in the middle of a large field spreading over the top of a tall hill. Marlena stared out the window with her mouth half open, unaware that Erik had climbed out of the carriage and was making his way to her side._

_"Where are we?" She asked herself out loud. "Ireland? England?"_

_"Scotland." Erik answered through the now open door, causing Marlena to jump. He offered her his hand and gracefully helped her down. _

_"But that's so far!" She protested, scanning the landscape. "There's no way we could have come this far…"_

_He led her to a large oak tree, Marlena's bare feet starting to freeze as they walked through the damp grass. He bade her to sit on a thick blanket at the base of the tree before he returned to the carriage. Panic shook her as she thought he would leave her there, but he was back in mere moments._

_"My love, I bring this gift to you." He said gently as he took a violin lovingly from its case. He started playing, slow and soft, such a sweet melody that Marlena could feel her heart breaking. Softly, he began to sing._

"So?" Danielle asked as her friend paused. "Is that it?" She had been hoping for something as exciting as the dream where Marlena and the strange man met on a prison barge or something where Marlena saved the world from evil lizard aliens.

"No…" Marlena shook her head, once again staring into her now cold tea. "His voice was so soft and full of emotion and his song was so sad that when he asked me to marry him, I said yes." Danielle gasped lightly but Marlena didn't look up. "He handed me a wedding gown which I slipped easily over my nightgown and he placed a small calla lily in my hair."

Danielle nodded her head, seemingly understanding everything. "Your favorite flower. It makes the dream seem that much more romantic." She threw away her second empty can but did not stand to take another one.

"He slipped the most beautiful garnet ring on my finger. I almost cried with the loveliness of it. He smiled at me and before I could kiss him or say anything to him… He was gone. I climbed into the carriage after a moment and it took me home in my wedding dress." She sighed and looked like she was trying not to cry. Danielle leaned forward and placed a hand on hers. "I climbed into bed, still wearing the dress, and when back to sleep."

"Danielle shrugged, looking unimpressed. "Maybe you've been eating too many sweets. This was all just another weird dream you should try to forget." She nodded as if she expected that to be the end of it all.

"You don't understand." Marlena said, shaking her head, pure terror in her eyes. "This morning when I woke up after having the dream…" She paused, licking her lips. "The lily was still in my hair."

Ooooo! Spooky! Anyway, here are the lyrics to Dream Lover, by Mae McKenna as promised. Enjoy!

Last night I dreamed of you my love

I dreamed you came to me

I felt your breath upon my face

You came to set me free

I cry out loud

I call your name

What tangled web is this my love?

I dream of you again

Your voice I hear so clearly now

Compelling me to rise

My love, you seem so strange to me

I dare not meet your eyes

Be not afraid

And show no fear

No harm will come to you this night

For I will hold you near

He took me then and lifted me

I begged that I might stay

The moon and stars they guided him

He bore me far away

Oh where am I?

What spell is this?

He took no head and paid no mind

And I could not resist

My love I bring this gift to you

He took his violin

He played so sweet it broke my heart

And softly he did sing

How soft the word

How sad the song

I wore his gown and took his ring

He smiled and he was gone


End file.
